Groveland Knifing Attack Leads To 4 Years In Cell

NEWS IN BRIEF

TAVARES - Circuit Judge G. Richard Singeltary this week sentenced a man to more than four years in prison in a knifing attack.

Robert Chudomelka, 26, of Mascotte was sentenced to 51 months in prison on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in a Jan. 2, 1998, attack.

A Groveland police officer was driving past a Chevrolet Blazer at State Road 50 and Illinois Avenue when the driver began honking the horn. The driver got out of the vehicle covered with blood and was gasping for air.

He said he had been stabbed by a hitchhiker who had asked for a ride to a bank ATM machine.

The attacker stabbed him in the side, bit his hand and hopped into the back seat, where he began choking him. The driver lost control of his vehicle, which crashed into the ATM machine.

The attacker jumped out of the vehicle when the victim pretended to be unconscious. Police, using the man's description, used a police dog to arrest Chudomelka.